1993 WMHB Atlantic hurricane season
The 1993 Atlantic hurricane season was a well below average Atlantic hurricane season and the first since 1983 to feature no major hurricanes. It featured only 7 named storms, of which 2 became hurricanes and none became major hurricanes. The season officially started on June 1st and ended on November 30th, dates which conventionally delimit the period in which most tropical cyclones form in the Atlantic Ocean. The season's first and strongest storm, Hurricane Arlene, developed on June 2nd, while the season's last storm, Tropical Depression Eight, dissipated on October 28th, more than a month before the season officially ended. Of the season's 7 named storms, only 2 reached hurricane intensity during the year: Arlene and Dennis. Neither storm affected land during any point in their lifespan. An El Nino limited the season's activity, which was already predicted to be below average. Seasonal Summary ImageSize = width:800 height:240 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:20 left:20 Legend = columns:3 left:30 top:58 columnwidth:270 AlignBars = early DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/06/1993 till:01/11/1993 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMinor = grid:black unit:month increment:1 start:01/07/1993 Colors = id:canvas value:gray(0.88) id:GP value:red id:TD value:rgb(0.38,0.73,1) legend:Tropical_Depression_=_<39_mph_(0–62_km/h)_(TD) id:TS value:rgb(0,0.98,0.96) legend:Tropical_Storm_=_39–73_mph_(63–117 km/h)_(TS) id:C1 value:rgb(1,1,0.80) legend:Category_1_=_74–95_mph_(119–153_km/h)_(C1) id:C2 value:rgb(1,0.91,0.46) legend:Category_2_=_96-110_mph_(154-177_km/h) id:C3 value:rgb(1,0.76,0.25) legend:Category_3_=_111-130_mph_(178-209-km/h) id:C4 value:rgb(1,0.56,0.13) legend:Category_4_=_131-155_mph_(210-249_km/h) id:C5 value:rgb(1,0.38,0.38) legend:Category_5_=_>=156_mph_(>=250_km/h) Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Hurricane bar:Month PlotData= barset:Hurricane width:11 align:left fontsize:S shift:(4,-4) anchor:till from:02/06/1993 till:16/06/1993 color:C2 text:"Arlene (C2)" from:07/07/1993 till:13/07/1993 color:TS text:"Bret (TS)" from:04/08/1993 till:08/08/1993 color:TS text:"Cindy (TS)" from:20/08/1993 till:27/08/1993 color:C1 text:"Dennis (C1)" barset:break from:04/09/1993 till:09/09/1993 color:TS text:"Emily (TS)" from:11/09/1993 till:15/09/1993 color:TS text:"Floyd (TS)" from:27/09/1993 till:02/10/1993 color:TS text:"Gert (TS)" from:27/10/1993 till:28/10/1993 color:TD text:"Eight (TD)" bar:Month width:5 align:center fontsize:S shift:(0,-20) anchor:middle color:canvas from:01/06/1993 till:01/07/1993 text:June from:01/07/1993 till:01/08/1993 text:July from:01/08/1993 till:01/09/1993 text:August from:01/09/1993 till:01/10/1993 text:September from:01/10/1993 till:01/11/1993 text:October TextData = pos:(570,30) text:"(From the" pos:(617,30) text:"Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale)" Systems Hurricane Arlene A cold front that moved off the east coast of the United States became stationary on June 1st. The cloud cover detached from the front to become a tropical low, and it had sufficient organization to be classified as Tropical Depression One on June 2nd. The following day, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Arlene. As is typical with most high-latitude storms, Arlene was imbedded within a larger-scale cyclone, allowing further development of the system. By June 4th, Arlene had strengthened into a hurricane as it rapidly developed. The low-shear environment created by the larger cyclone allowed Arlene to rapidly intensify. Arlene became a Category 2 hurricane as it developed a well-defined eye. By June 6th, the larger cyclone had dissipated and Arlene continued northeast as it reached a peak intensity close to Category 3 strength. Arlene began to weaken the next day over the cool waters of the northern Atlantic, but it stayed a tropical system for nearly another week as it weakened below hurricane strength on June 12th. Arlene became post-tropical late on June 13th while 500 miles west of Ireland. Its extratropical remnants brought gale-force winds to the coast of Ireland before dissipation on June 16th. Tropical Storm Bret A well-defined tropical wave began to organize in the Gulf of Mexico on July 6th. Favorable conditions amidst a lack of vertical wind shear allowed the wave to strengthen into Tropical Depression Two on July 7th. It then quickly strengthened into Tropical Storm Bret while south of Louisiana. The large system tracked quite slowly at only 3 mph, but strengthened steadily under favorable conditions. It was expected to reach hurricane strength by July 10th, but Bret instead peaked as a 70 mph (110 km/h) tropical storm and made landfall near Corpus Christi, TX on July 10th. Bret caused extensive flooding, causing 3 indirect fatalities and a total of $770 million (1993 USD) in damages. Bret weakened slowly as it stalled over land, continuing to produce heavy rainfall and widespread flooding. Bret eventually weakened to a tropical depression on July 12th and continued to track northwest until finally dissipating over dry central Texas on July 13th. Bret was the first of two tropical systems to affect Texas in 1993, the other being Tropical Storm Cindy a month later. Tropical Storm Cindy A tropical depression formed in the western Caribbean Sea on August 4th after nearly a month of inactivity in the Atlantic basin. Tracking northwest, the depression slowly strengthened and became Tropical Storm Cindy on August 5th. The same day, Cindy brushed the northern coast of Nicaragua and Honduras, bringing heavy rains, flooding, and mudslides to the region. While damage was minimal, much of the region's banana trees and farmland had been ruined by mudslides, causing an estimated $9 million in damages. No fatalities were reported. Cindy continued slowly northwest, gradually increasing in forward speed as it weakened. Cindy weakened to a tropical depression as it moved ashore near Brownsville, TX. Rapidly weakening over land, Cindy caused minimal flooding in southern Texas and parts of Mexico before dissipating over the deserts of southern Texas. Overall, minimal damage was inflicted by the weak tropical storm and no fatalities were reported. Hurricane Dennis A decaying cold front spawned a large area of low pressure over the Atlantic Ocean on August 18th. The low progressively strengthened as it tracked northeastward. By the time it had transitioned into a tropical system, the low was already producing winds of tropical storm-force, and the NHC designated it as Tropical Storm Dennis on August 20th. Dennis continued to strengthen as it moved swiftly northeast, and despite holding a frontal appearance became a hurricane on August 22nd. The storm reached peak intensity the next day while around 600 miles south of Newfoundland. Its outer bands produced light rainfall and gusty conditions to eastern Newfoundland as Dennis passed by. Dennis began to undergo extratropical transition on August 24th, becoming a powerful post-tropical cyclone at 20:00 UTC, still packing hurricane-force winds. The ex-hurricane raced to the northern Atlantic where it finally dissipated over frigid waters on August 27th. Dennis caused very little damage over land, restricted to minor beach and wind erosion in Newfoundland. Tropical Storm Emily A tropical wave left the African coast on September 2nd. Initially, the wave struggled with strong wind shear, but it remained intact as conditions improved for development. By September 4th, the NHC was able to classify the wave as Tropical Depression Five due to a closed circulation and well-defined center. The depression then quickly strengthened to become Tropical Storm Emily 5 hours later. Although water and atmospheric conditions were favorable for development and the storm had a well-defined circulation, Emily did not strengthen significantly, and instead remained a 50 mph (85 km/h) tropical storm until September 8th when it began weakening. Gradually, wind shear strengthened as Emily progressed into more northerly and cooler waters. The storm weakened back to a tropical depression at 18:00 UTC and remained a depression until degenerating to a remnant low on September 9th. Tropical Storm Floyd On September 10th, a tropical wave exited the African coast. Despite moderately strong wind shear, the wave organized and was classified as a tropical depression the next day. Strengthening was expected to be relatively slow, and indeed the depression did not strengthen significantly for over a day. Finally, on September 13th, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Floyd as wind shear began to die down. This, along with warmer than average sea temperatures allowed Floyd to steadily intensify as it approached the Leeward Islands. Floyd passed over the island of Martinique on September 14th with wind speeds of 65 mph (100 km/h). The storm brought heavy rainfall across the Leeward and northern Windward Islands, triggering landslides and minor coastal flooding. Damage estimates totaled to $15 million with 4 fatalities in Dominica. Floyd's fast movement speed and strengthening wind shear caused the storm to rapidly weaken over the Caribbean Sea, and it eventually degenerated to an open wave on September 15th. Tropical Storm Gert Tropical Depression Seven formed over the tropical Atlantic on September 27th from a well-defined tropical wave. The depression strengthened quickly, and it was designated as Tropical Storm Gert on September 28th. Entering the Caribbean Sea late on September 29th, Gert continued to track nearly due west at an unusually low latitude due to a high pressure area to its north. Initially, it was expected to shift further north, but the storm instead continued west to make landfall in Venezuela on September 30th after passing over the island of Trinidad. Heavy rainfall from Gert caused widespread flooding and landslides in Venezuela. Impacts were devastating, with 244 deaths being attributed to the storm and a total of $110 million (1993 USD) in damages and economic losses being dealt. Entire villages were flooded or buried under mud and debris as Gert weakened over the Guajira Peninsula. Gert had weakened to a tropical depression on October 1st and continued to produce rainfall along the coastlines of Venezeula and Colombia before its dissipation early on October 2nd while over the southwest Caribbean Sea. Tropical Depression Eight On October 25th, an elongated area of low pressure developed from a cold front that had moved off the east coast of the United States. Initially, the low had sufficient organization to be classified, but still maintained extratropical characteristics. However, the low detached from the front and began to display subtropical characteristics. Thus, the NHC designated the system as Subtropical Depression One on October 27th. Initially, the subtropical depression was expected to dissipate within 12 hours, but it instead strengthened slightly and transitioned to a fully tropical system. Thus, the numerical designation was changed and the depression was reclassified as Tropical Depression Eight. Interaction with its parent cold front and strong wind shear inhibited development of the depression, and it quickly began to weaken. By October 28th it had lost all tropical characteristics and degenerated to a remnant low before losing any defining characteristics at 20:00 UTC. Storm Names Below is a list of names used for systems that attained at least tropical storm intensity in the north Atlantic Ocean during the 1993 Atlantic hurricane season. This list is the same list that was used for the 1987 season. No names were retired in 1993. Category:Past Hurricane Seasons Category:WMHB Seasons (Cooper) Category:What-might-have-been seasons